"We don't like to mix lines up too much over the course of the year," admitted head coach Ted Nolan, whose Islanders take on the Boston Bruins tonight at the Nassau Coliseum, "but when things don't work, you're forced to do it a little bit. We'll tinker with them and hopefully come up with some good combinations that we can ride for a while. We're not disappointed in our players. Hopefully, different combinations may work."

Following the Islanders' recent 4-0 setback to Atlanta, Nolan decided to shake things up, including the call-up of Jeff Tambellini, who leads the Sound Tigers in points with 21. Tambellini will play tonight on the left wing with fellow Michigan Wolverine alum Mike Comrie centering and Miroslav Satan on the right side,

"Jeff Tambellini has a tremendous amount of speed and hopefully can create some opportunities," said Nolan. "He's playing with Mike Comrie, who is an exceptionally smart player. With Jeff's speed you never know what could happen with that combination."

Another new line consists of Josef Vasicek centering Ruslan Fedotenko and Bill Guerin. Vasicek and Guerin saw some time together in Saturday's contest against Atlanta.

"We tried Billy Guerin with Vasicek the last two periods of the last game. They seemed to like to play together. They had a good practice together, so we'll see how that combination works."

The other two lines consist of Mike Sillinger centering Sean Bergenheim and Trent Hunter on the shut down line, plus Richard Park in between Chris Simon and Andy Hilbert.

"Young Bergenheim jumped in and had seven shots on net the last game," said Ted. "Hopefully some of those opportunities will go in."

When asked what is needed to get things going offensively, Nolan replied: "We have to get bodies in front of every goaltender from here on in. We worked on getting screens in front of the net during practice yesterday. Ricky was even joking about how odd it was getting screened in practice. Every goaltender in this league can stop the puck if they see it."

Check out the Islanders TV Game Day tab for complete coverage of tonight’s game.

FREE TICKETS FOR KIDS TONIGHT!

Islanders Give LI Children Their First Holiday Presents

United States Marines to host Toys for Tots holiday collection as part of this special event

The New York Islanders would like to give Long Island children their first presents of the holiday season:

FREE tickets to see the Islanders face the Boston Bruins tonight, Dec. 3 at 7:05 pm at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

All kids 16 and under can pick up their complimentary tickets at the Coliseum Box Office beginning at 5:00 pm on the night of the game.

This unprecedented gift to Long Island children is made possible through RexCorp Islanders Inspire, a program of the New York Islanders Children's Foundation which has already made arrangements to bring more than 10,000 children to Islanders home games this season.

"The holidays should always be about our children," said Islanders head coach Ted Nolan. "I think it's fantastic that Charles Wang, RexCorp Islanders Inspire and the Islanders Children's Foundation are making it possible for children to take in a game at no cost. Our team is looking forward to seeing so many young faces at the Coliseum tonight."

The United States Marines, in conjunction with the Islanders Children's Foundation, will host a Toys for Tots drive outside the Coliseum box office tonight starting at 5:00 pm. Fans are encouraged to bring new, unwrapped toys so other children in our community can also benefit from Tonight's game.

Please note that once the fans pick up their complimentary tickets tonight beginning at 5:00 pm, they must enter the Coliseum. This guarantees that the free tickets go to the children on a first-come, first served basis.

Doors to the arena will open one hour early, at 5:00 pm, for this unparalleled event. Prior to the game, the holiday spirit will be in the air with Sparky and the Ice Girls, holiday music and special surprises in store for the children. Young fans will have the opportunity to make Islanders signs for the game and receive gifts including Santa hats and Islanders Yearbooks.

Let's make Tonight night's game against the Bruins a holiday-time memory children will cherish for years to come.